Here are their retirement secrets that you may not know

• Doctors face many financial challenges, including high student loan loads, late career starts, low starting salaries, and extended workweeks.

• Practitioners fit for the ‘Financial Independence, Retire Early’ (FIRE) model, which works on the principle of saving aggressively to achieve financial independence as quickly as possible, is a solid option for anyone with savings and high income potential.

Achieving financial independence and retiring on your own terms requires strategic planning. This is especially true for many doctors, who often accumulate substantial amounts of student loan debt and don’t begin earning high salaries until later in their careers.

Despite these obstacles, some physicians want to retire early. We explore how doctors manage their debt and save for retirement, as well as how others can apply these principles to achieve financial independence.

There are many misconceptions about doctors. The most common thing is that the doctors are rich and have huge assets. But this is not always the case.

The reality is that it can take more than a decade to become a doctor in the United States. Staying in school longer often leads to greater amounts of student loan debt, with the average medical debt burden reaching $216,659 in 2025. This also means that most doctors do not start their careers until they are in their 20s or 30s.

Doctors must complete a residency, which can take three to seven years, depending on the area of ​​specialty, with a first-year resident salary averaging $63,000.

Physicians face many financial obstacles during their residency. This includes student loan loads that accrue interest, as well as their living expenses. But once they complete their residency their earning potential increases.

“It’s a balancing act of multiplying their income overnight, racking up huge student loan debt, starting a family, buying a house and becoming a great doctor,” said Chad Chubb, founder of WealthKill and certified financial planner.

Because of the late start to their careers, many doctors should think aggressively about saving so they can achieve financial independence, Chubb said. Investopedia. This includes paying off their debt and saving for retirement.

Late career starts and the physical demands of the job can take a toll on many physicians. Financial burdens only add to that stress. Participating in the FIRE (Financial Freedom, Retire Early) movement is one way doctors can enjoy financial flexibility. The goal is for doctors to save as much money as possible immediately after they complete their training.

“I generally recommend that doctors try to maintain their resident lifestyle for two to five years after completing residency training,” said Dr. Jim Dahl, a practicing emergency room physician.

Dahl, founder of The White Coat Investor, which provides personal financial resources to physicians, said doctors can retire early by using the difference between their attending physician income and their residential lifestyle to reach their financial goals faster.

This allows them to pay off their student loans, meet other financial obligations, save for retirement, and avoid career burnout. According to Dahle, 25% of physicians reach a net worth of less than $1 million by their mid-60s, which he considers “pretty pathetic” given that they’ve earned between $5 million and $15 million over the past 30 years.

That may be because doctors don’t have the benefit of compounding working in their favor unlike other professionals. That’s why doctors jealously suggest starting savings as soon as possible. Chubb has a few key rules doctors can follow to reach financial independence and retire early.

Even if you’re not a doctor, you can try and follow these tips to get an early retirement:

• Run the numbers: Figure out how much you’ll need to cover your annual expenses when you retire, and multiply the total amount you should aim to save by 25 or 30. For example, if you need to spend $100,000 each year, you need to save $2.5 million to $3 million for retirement.

• Start saving ASAP: For example, when you are young and in training, you can probably save 10% to 15%. If you wait until you’re older, you’ll probably have to put more money away.

• Use tax-advantaged accounts: Save in 401(k)s, 403(b)s, Roth Individual Retirement Accounts (Roth IRAs), and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), and max out your contribution limits as much as you can. If your employer provides you with a match, you get “free money” and your contribution reduces your adjusted gross income (AGI).
  

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